Band for garments



. 2, 1952 H. HARDIE BAND FOR GARMENTs Filed April 15, -1950 FIG.1

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Patented Dec. 2, 1952 STATE-s L.PAT @ENT oFF-ics BAND rovsomsnrs HariyHardie, Baltimore, Md., assignor .to The Nobelt Company, Baltimore,`Md., a corporation: of. Maryland ,ApplcationApril 15, 1950, Serial No.156,185

1 Claim. 1

'This invention relates .to garment belts or bands, and moreparticularly to elastic garment 'belts ofthe type which vare sewn onto a`garment during manufacture and form an integral part of :the garment'.

l'Body openings of garments, such. as torso or leg openings, are oftenprovided with an elastic band o rI belt sewn to the edge of the openingfor holding thegarment in position `on the wearer. The elasticA band mayextend either for only .a 'portion' of the length of the .opening or.may extend completely about the opening and have its ends united toform an endless 'band surrounding the waist or limb of the wearer.

vSuch elastic bands are sometimes .formed of a strip of thin, .elasticsheet-rubber covered with a textile sheath, the rubber and sheath .beingunited and 'held in place on the garment by parallel 4rows of stitchingpenetrating .the rubber strip.. v'Ihe garment band'v of the presentinvention .is of this type'.

In the form shown of the present invention, an outer strip or sheath ofwoven textile material covers the outer surface of the rubber strip, thelongitudinal edges of the sheath being folded closely about the edges ofthe rubber strip. The inner side ofthe rubber strip (towards the body ofthe wearer) is covered by a knitted textile sheath, the inner' sheathbeing substantially coextensive with the outer sheath and thelongitudinal edges of the inner sheath being folded inwardly uponthemselves to form hems along `the top and bottom of the inner sheath.This band is assembled onto an edge ofthe garment, whichV 'is preferablyof knitted material, during the manufacture thereof; the edge of thegarment lmaterial being interposed between the inner sheath and therubber kstrip and encompassing outer sheath. The band is united by threeor more para'llel'rows of stitching extending longitudinally of theband.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide an rimprovedelastic garment band which iis kparticularly suited for a garment formedof knitted "material, which has a pleasing appearance, which is 'verycomfortable to the wearer; and to generally improve garment vbands ofthe -type described.

Further objects, and objects relating to details and economies .of.manufacture and use, will vmore denitely appear in the detaileddescription to follow.

M y invention is clearly .defined .in the appended claim. -Where vpartsare, ,for clarity andY convenience, referred to on the "basis of theiroriented :position .shown in the accompanying drawing, no limitation asto positioning of the .entire structure is to be implied, since it vwillbe understood that the .entire .structure may be used in any positiondepending on its mounting on the garment. Also, iin both the description,and the claim, parts attime may 'be identified by specific names forclarity and convenience, but

such nomenclature is to be understood as having the broadest meaningconsistent with the context and Awith the concept of my invention asdistinguished from the pertinent prior art. The best form 'in which. Ihave contemplated applying my invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which:

Fig. 1 of the drawing Vis an elevation of the outside of' a garmenthaving a band in accordance with the present invention, portions of vthegarment and band being broken away to show details of construction.

Fig. l2` is an enlarged, somewhat Adiagrammatic cross .section of vthe.garment and band taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. V1.

Fig. 3 is -a view similar to Fig. l of a second form of the invention,in which the outer sheath is formed of bias-.cut fabric.

'Referring now to the drawings, the elastic band II)v of. the presentinvention 4is particularly .adapted for use 4as an .elastic waistbandfor mens vknitted pajamas, .or shorts, in which 'instance it :is.applied .to the upper edge of .the knitted garment material :I1I. 1t:is well suited for use as .an endless .elastic band formed bypermanently `joining the .ends lof the band, as in the so-called boxershorts, sufficient stretch being provided in the band and .garment for`putting on and taking .olf the garment. The garment material yIrIApreferably has a substantial stretch in the direction :of :the band I0so r,as yto permit stretching of the band and yet not have anysubstantial shirring of the upper edge of the garment material when vtheband is inrelaxed vor unstretched acondition.

yThe elastic band IIll is formed of an outer textile sheath :I'2, anVinner textile sheath I4, and a strip of thin, elastic sheet-rubber I5,which are assembled onto the edge of Vthe garment material II and.united by stitching as vwill be described. The outer textile sheath -I2`is formed of Vwoven textile material. 1n the .garment band shown inFig. :1, the outer .sheath I2 is square cut, while in the second formshown in Fig. :3, the outer sheath lis bias cut. the bands otherwiseibeing simi-lar. The outer sheath I2 covers the outer surface of therubber strip 15.

'The rubber .strip iIi5 is a thin strip vof -elastic sheeterubberA(including .rubber-,like material) .preferably having a width whenunstretched in .the xorder .of .an inch Yto .an inch and a half andsuitable 4:tlfiiekness to provide the desired tension vof vfthe bandvwhen position on the wearer, which tension .is varied depending .on theweight lcf the .garment :to be supported. The edges I3 of theoutersheath -I.2 are folded over lthe top and -bottomedges .of the.rubber strip I5 so as to encompass and more or .less confine the rubberstrip, as `will he explained.

The inner ltex,tile/sheath L4 yis preferably .formed of knitted textilematerial-.having a substantial stretch in the direction of the band I0in order to provide for stretch of the band and still not besubstantially shirred when the band is in unstretched condition. Thus,Vthere is no substantial shirring of the inner sheath when the garmentis in position on the wearer and the soft, exible knitted material formsa comfortbottom rows I6 of stitching penetrate the outer sheath I2, thefolded-over edges I3 of the outer sheath, the rubber strip I5, and thefolded-over or hemmed portion of the inner sheath I4. The lower row ofstitching also penetrates the edge of the garment material which isinterposed between the lower folded-over edge I3 of the outer sheath,andthe rubber strip I5 on one side, and the inner sheath I4 on the otherside. In addition, one or more rows I6 of stitching, preferably two innumber, penetrate the outersheath I2, rubber strip I5, and inner sheathI4 between the top and bottom rows of stitching. Preferably, the garmentmaterial is penetrated by the next to the bottom, as well as the bottom,row I5 of stitching.

The band III is preferably assembled on the garment material I I at the`sewing point and then sewn while in stretched condition. The outersheath I2, inner sheath I4, and rubber strip I 5 are fed to the garmentin strip form through suitable guides and folders, the rubberstrip,'inner sheath,

land edge of garment material being stretched a predetermined amount,and the outer `woven sheath not being substantially stretched,particularly if square out rather than bias cut.

After assembly at the sewing point, theb'and is sewn when in stretchedcondition by a multiple-needle machine so as to insert all the rows I6of stitching Ysimultaneously and produce stitches which coincide (theneedle penetrations of the band opposite one another), thus producing auniform shirring of the band. Preferably, a

straight stitch is used, having a length when stretched of about tenstitches to the inch.

By sewing the band IB when in stretched condition, it is not necessaryto use elastic or zig-zag folding the edges I3 of the outer sheath I2about the rubber strip when it is in somewhat narrower stretchedcondition, the strip will expand laterally when relaxed so as tocompletely ll the folded-over edges of the outer sheath and stiftenthese edges to hold them against folding back against the face of theband along the top and bottom rows of stitching. This arrangement givesan outer sheath of improved appearance,

facilitates ironing of the garment if desired, and

stiffens the outer sheath so as to make, ironing thereof unnecessary.

In the second form off the` invention,'which is shown in Fig. 3, theouter sheath II is formed from a strip of woven material cut on the biasso that the entire band may expand and contract somewhat in width withthe rubber strip I5 as tension on the band is varied. The other parts ofthe band of Fig. 3 are similar to the band of Fig. 1 and assembled in asimilar manner.

If the outer sheath I2 is square cut from Woven material as in Fig. 1,there is no substantial lateral stretch of the sheath as it is relaxedfrom stretched condition, and the rubber strip I5 is inwardly arched toform a series of pad-like flexible corrugations. However, if the outersheath is bias cut from woven material as in Fig. 3, the lateral stretchof the sheath (which is not substantially limited by the inner sheath ofknit material) will permit the rubber strip I5 to remain flat, the outersheath still comining the strip suiciently to reinforce the outersheath, particularly the edges thereof. In the latter instance, the bandI0 expands laterally somewhat when relaxed from stretched condition, therubber strip remaining generally fiat rather than arching inwardlybetween the rows of stitching.

The woven outer sheaths I2 or II may be cut from material forming apleasing contrast to the knit garment material I I. In addition, theshirring of the outer sheath by the stitches I6 gives a very pleasingappearance to the band. At the same time, the inner sheath I4 and thegarment material are not substantially shirred and remain smooth andcomfortable to the wearer.

I claim;

An elastic band for a garment, comprising: a strip of thin elasticsheet-rubber, an outer woven textile sheath covering the outer surfaceof the rubber strip with the edgesof said sheath folded closely over theedges of the rubber strip and more or less confining the edges of therubber strip against lateral expansion when the band is in unstretchedcondition, an inner textile sheath covering the inner surface of therubber strip, the edges of the innersheath being folded inwardly to formhems, and the inner and outer sheaths being approximately coextensive,an edge of garment material interposed between the inner sheath and theassembly of rubber strip and outer sheath, and a plurality of parallelrows of sti-tching extending longitudinally of the band, such rows ofstitching being sewn with the rubber strip in longitudinally stretchedcondition, said stitching including top and bottom rows of stitchingpassing through the outer edge portions of the outer sheath, therubber'strip, the folded-over portions of the outer sheath, and the hemsof the inner sheath, ther bottom row of stitching additionally passingthrough the garment material, and the stitching also including at leastone intermediate'rowA of stitching passing through the outer sheath, therubber strip, and the inner sheath.

HARRY HARDIE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

